Let’s add a 7th rule alteration to my well received Super 6, which have been designed to lessen the thickness of the Rules Book, while reengaging the fans.
If you didn’t get a chance to read about the first six, they can be found at this site.
If you look them up, and don’t know which one to read first, then make it A Point Earned, Is A Point Scored. That change is the most critical alteration we could ever make.
Of course that is, if the goal is to get out from under being referred to as a non-revenue sport.
A Point Earned, Is A Point Scored, is wrestling’s evolution into prominence.
But for now; stalemates, number 7, must go the way of the Dodo bird. They are just as unnecessary and ineffective as those who conceived the rule.
Stalemates are just another way that referee’s screw up fan enjoyment, which, by the way, isn’t their fault. They’re only following the mandates that were instituted by the Rules Committee. The ones who believe that hearing more whistles is better than less, and the thicker the rules book is, the more important they feel they’ve become.
Stalemates are deceptive advertising. I have never, let me repeat that, I have never been in a stalemated position. And I did wrestle an awful lot of matches.
When I officiated later in my career, I never witnessed a situation where at least one athlete couldn’t unscrew himself from an intertwined jumble of body parts.
Someone could always get out of what appeared to be a bad position. Actually, that’s the reason why one athlete stops the action and looks hopelessly to the referee. He wants to be saved from the situation that he’s in, knowing full well if he continues scrambling, he’s going to lose points.
But, if both athletes were properly motivated by the threat of a stalling call, wrestling would continue, and the fans would love the appearance of two kittens fighting over a ball of yarn.
But why should the wrestler who’s in the poorest position continue wrestling when the sport has a rule that allows him or her an out?
And in the process be able to take a break from the action, while recovering from a position that most likely would have ended up with him or her losing points.
Stalemates only screw up an enjoyable evening, and are just another reason why our stands are nearly empty.
Apologies to Penn State and Iowa for writing this because I can’t remember any time where one of their athletes were involved in a stalemated position.
But, when they were, and I might have been wrong; maybe once before, I bet I’m right now when I say if there was a stalemated position, it wasn’t a Hawk, or a Nittany Lion who was doing the stalling.
Stalemates are really, really bad for the sport. Actually, anytime a whistle is blown, regardless of why, other to start, or restart a bout, hurts the evening’s performance.
So, what should we do instead?
It’s easy, as I said, call stalling. Pick the athlete who’s hanging onto a bad position and sting him for inactivity.
But . . . don’t stop the match!
Make the offending athlete reengage. He or she is the one who got himself, or herself in that position, make him or her responsible to get out of it. Then keep hitting him or her until they are disqualified or something happens. Yes, the official will have to be responsible to “know” who’s the offending wrestler but they always have to make decisions. That’s what they have trained for, and being paid to do.
As soon as the referee’s starts banging someone, wow, amazingly, you’ll stop seeing what we use to call a stalemate.
Now, for those who are warming up their typing fingers to object to something I just wrote, don’t confuse a potentially dangerous call with stalemates.
They’re similar, but very different.
